USDA: Sprawling Storm System Halts Midwest Fieldwork

USDA's Joint Ag Weather Facility says in the Corn Belt, fieldwork is mostly at a standstill, as a sprawling storm system continues to produce widespread rain and chilly conditions. "Rain is especially heavy in the Ohio Valley, while temperatures are hovering near the 40-degree mark across the far upper Midwest," USDA elaborates.

In the West, USDA explains rain and snow showers are subsiding. "Frost a dvisories are in effect early today in parts of south- western Oregon and northwestern California, and a freeze warning is in effect in south-central Washington," USDA continues.

On the Plains, USDA reports snow is falling in parts of the western Dakotas. "In fact, chilly, windy weather covers all of the nation’s mid-section, except for some lingering warmth in southern Texas," USDA explains. Weekend showers largely bypassed the drought-stricken southern High Plains, where considerable blowing dust has been noted in recent days, according to USDA.

In the South, USDA says recovery efforts are underway in areas—especially in Arkansas and neighboring states—struck by the recent severe weather outbreak. "Currently, strong thunderstorms stretch from portions of Kentucky and Tennessee southwestward into Louisiana," Farther east, fieldwork is ongoing in the southern Atlantic States, as producers attempt to plant ahead of a multi-day rain event, USDA continues.

In its outlook, USDA says a storm system currently centered over eastern Nebraska will move to the vicinity of Lake Michigan by mid-week and drift just north of the Great Lakes region by week’s end. "Severe thunderstorms will remain a threat through mid-week in the Southeast and lower Midwest," USDA reports. The storm’s slow movement will also result in excessive rainfall, locally 3 to 6 inches or more, from southern Alabama and western Florida into southern New England, USDA elaborates. Additional precipitation across the northern and eastern Corn Belt could reach 1 to 3 inches," USDA continues. In contrast, USDA reports dry weather will prevail through week’s end from California to the southern Plains. "In the storm’s wake, frost and freezes will threaten parts of the Intermountain West and the High Plains as far south as northern Texas," USDA explains.